5 injured after car slams into Bordentown Bagels

BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — The Sunday morning bagel rush at Bordentown Bagels was interrupted when a car smashed through the front window.

Employees who were inside the store described the event as chaotic when the sound of glass shattering and concrete breaking rocked the small shop on Mission Road, just before 10:30 a.m. All four employees escaped injury, but were shaken up by the ordeal. Several customers were not as fortunate, however, as four were said to have minor injuries and another was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center for treatment of multiple injuries.

Marie Duven, the owner of Bordentown Bagels, said she got the call from her employees and said that when she came it was mass confusion. “There was people everywhere, glass every where and I tried to get a handle on who got hurt,” said Duven. “There was one lady — I pray she’s OK — got the brunt of it and then there were three or four other people bleeding from flying glass.”

The front counter of the store escaped damage as the car only came about a third of the way into the store, Duven said.

“I talked to the driver of the car,” said Duven, “She said she doesn’t even realize how it happened. She said she put it in park, and the next thing she knew she was in the middle of the store.”

Duven said the driver was a frequent customer of the store and that she tried to explain what happened, but was still disoriented from the crash.

According to Duven, this is not the first time a car has gone through the front of her store during its 20 years in business. “One other time — maybe 15 years ago — we had a speed shop next to us,” said Duven. “Four teenaged boys getting some equipment for their car, the car was running and apparently it was going to take longer then they thought, so they sent out the 16-year-old out to shut the car off. I don’t know what he did, but he ended up in the middle of the store.”

Duven said in that incident it was late in the afternoon and no one was inside. Again the store’s counter escaped damage as the car stopped in the middle of her shop.

The damage to store appeared to have been contained to the front window where crews were on scene shoring up the smashed window frame and preparing to close the opening.

The crash comes just before establishment was closing for a weeklong vacation. “There’s no more vacation,” she said.

“What are you going to do?,” Duven said shaking her head, “I pray those people that got hurt are ok.”

Further information regarding the exact circumstances of the crash was not immediately available.